Islamic Educatior

Islamic Education and the Transmissionof Knowledge in Muslim Sicily

William Granara(Harvard University)

The reconstruction of the intellectual and cultural history of Muslim Sicily haspresented challenges to historians because of the dearth of primary sources for thisrichly layered but relatively unknown period. Unlike Islamic Spain, Sicily lacks thehistorical, literary, and religious documents that might bear witness to the culturalproductivity of almost four centuries of Muslim presence on the island. Islamic Sicilycan boast no Ibn Hazm, Ibn al-cArabi, or Ibn Rushd, whose bio-bibliographies attestto Andalusian contributions to Islamic intellectual history writ large. Nor does Sicilypossess a work such as al-Maqqari's Nafh al-tib min ghusn al-Andalus al-ratlb["Fragrant Perfume Wafting from the Moist Branch of the Andalus"] a voluminousencyclopedia on the political, social and intellectual history of Muslim Spain.1 Muchof what we know of Muslim Sicily has been culled from later Arabic sources whichthe nineteenth-century Sicilian historian Michele Amari (1806-89) collated into amaster volume in 1857, Biblioteca arabo-sicula (henceforth BAS), and drawing onwhich he composed his magnum opus, Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia (henceforthSMS), edited and published posthumously between 1933 and 1939 in Catania, Sicily.2

Most modern scholarship on medieval Muslim Sicily (from the beginning of the ninthto the middle of the thirteenth century) is heavily indebted to Amari's ground-breaking work. This essay presents a survey of the biographies of several generationsof Muslim Sicilian scholars and attempts to reconstruct the history of Islamiceducation and the transmission of knowledge to and from the island during the periodof Arab rule and the first years after the Norman conquest. Given the paucity ofprimary sources and the wealth of modern scholarship, much of this introduction willreiterate and reconfirm what has come to be regarded as the accepted history ofSicilian Islam.

1 Nafh al-tib min ghusn al-andalus al-ratlb (8 vols.) is the most comprehensive work on IslamicSpain. It was written by Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Maqqari, prolific writer and historian, who was born inthe city of Tlemcen in 986/1578 and died in Egypt in 1041/1631. The work was edited by Ihsan c Abbas,published in Beirut in 1968, and republished in 1997.

2 Michele Amari, Biblioteca arabo-sicula (Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1857); idem, Storia dei Musulmanidi Sicilia, 2nd ed., ed. C.A. Nallino (Catania: Romeo Prampolini, 1935).

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 151

To begin with, Sicily in the period of Islamic rule was intricately connected -socially, militarily, politically, economically, and culturally - to Ifrlqiya (fromConstantine to Tripoli) in general, and to Qayrawan (Tunisia), its capital city, inparticular. This connection was established at the Sunni Aghlabid court in 212/827and survived the Shiite Fatimid takeover in 295/909 and subsequent Fatimid controlover the island, first from Ifrlqiya and later from Cairo. Sicilian religious life waspredominantly of the Sunni-Maliki school, and its secular culture was very much partof the Arabo-Islamic mainstream. An indigenous Sicilian Islamic culture came into itsown and flourished at the Kalbid court in the middle of the tenth century. Althoughthe Kalbids were clients of the Shiite Fatimid caliphs, the cultural life they presidedover was for the most part Sunni-Maliki and one that aspired to keep pace with themajor centers of the Islamic East. The rihlah or academic journey played a pivotalrole in Sicilian Muslim scholarship and, along with commerce, war, and pilgrimage(hajj), was instrumental in the import and export of knowledge to and from the island.Finally, the Norman synthesis, the great cultural eclecticism of the courts from RogerII (d. 1154) to Frederick II (d. 1250), sprouted in great part from the seeds of Araband Islamic institutions that were deeply rooted in Sicilian soil.

One of the more interesting issues to emerge in post-Amari scholarship has beenthe unevenness of the primary sources from which Muslim Sicilian history has beenreconstructed. Particularly with regard to the Fatimid revolution in North Africa andits suzerainty over Sicily, the question of the reliability of Sunni sources has beenimportant. As Marius Canard has noted: "Having suffered from the prejudices andhostility of the Sunnis, it [the Fatimid dynasty] has not always been described bySunni writers with understanding; but for some years now it has enjoyed a renewal ofinterest."3 More recently, the Italian historian Antonino Pellitteri has called attentionto what he terms "la polemica anti-sciita e anti-cubaydita" which has characterizedthe historiography of Muslim Sicily until very recently.4 He provides a close readingof several Shiite or pro-Shiite sources, including the works of the eminent IsmacIHjurist and historian, al-Qadi al-Nucman (d. 358/967), and folds them into the meta-narrative of Islamic Sicily. Especially important in Pellitteri's work is thereaffirmation of Sicily's importance to the Islamic jihad and its central role in thebalance of Fatimid-Byzantine superpower rivalry in the Mediterranean during thetenth and eleventh centuries.

The "Sunni" thesis has been clearly and succinctly articulated by H. Mones, whoemphasizes three main points.5 First, the Maghrebi and Andalusian students of MalikIbn Anas (d. 179/795) preserved and spread not only the master's work on Islamiclaw (al-Muwatta3) but also the emulation of his personal qualities (shama3il) thatbecame the essence of Malik! praxis for later generations. The institution of the

3 Marius Canard, "Fatimids," El2, 2:862.4 Antonino Pellitteri, / Fatimiti e La Sicilia (Sec. X) (Palermo: Centra Culturale Al-Farabi, 1996), 22.

See also idem, "The Historical-Ideological Framework of Islamic Fatimid Sicily (Fourth/Tenth Century)with Reference of the Works of the QadI al-Nucman," in Al-Masaq 7 (1994): 111-63. In this article theauthor also raises concerns about the unevenness of Sunni history, especially in reading andunderstanding Fatimid Sicily.

5 H. Mones (Husayn Mu'nis), "Le Malekisme et l'fichec des Fatimides en Ifriqiya," in Etudes Levi-Provengal I (Paris: G.P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1962), 197-220.

152 William Granara

Mosque of Sidi cUqbah b. Nafic at Qayrawan also played a pivotal role in thedissemination of Malikism throughout the Islamic west. Second, the political, social,and religious strife that plagued North Africa created a continuous rift between largesegments of the population and their governors. The jurisconsults (fuqaha3), in theircapacity as religious scholars {'ulama3) and pious ascetics (zuhhdd), were viewed asthe real leaders of the Muslim community. Third, when the Fatimid governmentoverthrew the Aghlabid dynasty and established itself in Ifrlqiya, its leaders were stilldoctrinally and theologically underdeveloped, no match for the well-trained andbattle-tested Maliki jurists. Thus, the Fatimid Mahdl's aim to humiliate thetraditional QayrawanI religious establishment and win over the general publicbackfired, as suspicion towards the new Shiite rulers and loyalty to the Sunni juristsincreased. For these reasons, Mones concludes, Fatimid Shiism failed and Malikismprevailed.

In his comprehensive study of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifrlqiya, Farhat Dachraouialso addresses the Sunni biases and, in a more profound and detailed manner thanPellitteri, urges a rereading of Shiite sources that will nuance, correct, and revise ourunderstanding of Fatimid history in the medieval Muslim West. His central thesis isthat the early Maliki sources overstated the Sunni/Shiite divide in early tenth-centuryNorth Africa in order to create martyrs out of the Maliki jurists and to force a divorcebetween the new governors and the QayrawanI religious establishment.7 Dachraouimakes the case that, while there were major rifts between the two parties the samehostilities between the fuqaha3 and the Aghlabid princes, all Sunnis, also existed priorto the Fatimid revolution. He points out that this had also been the case between theMedinan disciples of Malik and the Umayyad rulers. Dachraoui sees in the hostilitiesbetween Maliki jurists and the Fatimid state a continuation of the same religio-political dynamic. In addition, he interprets the defections of some HanafT QayrawanIjurists less as a reaction against their Maliki rivals and more as the result of certaindoctrinal affinities the Hanafi scholars shared with the Shiites. Above all, Dachraouiargues that the new Fatimid leaders adopted policies of accommodation, and thatShiite theology at that time and place, with minor exceptions in ritual and culturalpractices, diverged little from its Sunni counterpart. To support his position,Dachraoui shows how the office of chief judge under the Fatimids evolved into a two-tier system involving a judge for the Shiite community and a judge for the generalpublic. This was meant to achieve the expansionist goals of the Fatimid mission whileappeasing the Sunni jurists and their supporters among the masses. Whatdistinguishes the Fatimid judiciary is its new didactic role: the chief judge was

To substantiate this point, Mones refers to the disputations between Abu cUthman b. Sacid al-Haddad (d. 298/911) and several of the Fatimid scholars, preserved in Muhammad Abu al-cArab'sTabaqdt culamd3 Ifrlqiya (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnanl, 1970) and Abu Bakr al-Maliki's Riyadal-nufus (Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahdah al-Misriyah, 1951). For references, see H. Mones, "Le Malekisme,"212-15.

7 Farhat Dachraoui, Le Califat Fatimide au Maghreb (909-975) (Tunis: S.T.D., 1981). My remarkshere draw on the last chapter of his thesis, "L'Organisation Judiciaire," 397-422. Dachraoui's viewsseem supported by the account now published as The Advent of the Fatimids: A Contemporary Shi'iWitness, ed. and trans. W. Madelung and P. E. Walker (London: I. B. Tauris, 2000).

Islamic Educatu

charged with serving acomposing treatises on tl

The historian of Mhowever, to the Sunnioverwhelmingly IfrlqiDachraoui and Pellitterscholars while addressiidegree to which Arab-Ibegs further extensive re

TheAghl

The history of Muslimdynasty (189-297/800-<princes of Mahdlyah twthird Aghlabid emir, Zifull-scale jihad against Iof domestic problems -urban Arab elite and disamong the religious factcharges of moral and poto all these problems inthe negative attention.

In order to bypassbrokered and to counteiwhat would be considerhis two chief judges, Abmajority opinion of the jand, equipped with infcSicily which would makiattack.9

GratefuJ for the advictthe commander of the armQayrawan's (second) chieito the occasion by assemthundred, and an infantryIfrlqiyan society: Arabs o

8 Dachraoui cites the post-;(majdlis al-hikmah) that were in;and more recent study on this su(London: I.B. Tauris, 1997).

9 For a detailed account ofRiyad al-nufus, 185-89; also ArAsad b. al-Furat, see W. GranarMediterranea 19-20 (1998-99)::

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 153

charged with serving as a theoretician of Ismacill law in the name of the Imam,composing treatises on that law, and making it accessible to the general public.8

The historian of Muslim Sicilian intellectual history remains totally beholden,however, to the Sunni sources and what they say - or do not say - about itsoverwhelmingly Ifriqiyan/Sunni salient features. Inspired and challenged byDachraoui and Pellitteri's calls for evenhandedness, I will survey Muslim Sicilianscholars while addressing the first four points mentioned above. The question of thedegree to which Arab-Islamic influences penetrated and survived in Norman Sicilybegs further extensive research and remains beyond the scope of this study.

The Aghlabid Jihad and the Qayrawan Foundation

The history of Muslim Sicily begins at the court of the Aghlabid (Banu al-Aghlab)dynasty (189-297/800-909) in Qayrawan (Ifrlqiya) and ends at the court of the Ziridprinces of Mahdlyah two centuries later. It was specifically during the reign of thethird Aghlabid emir, Ziyadat Allah b. Ibrahim (201-225/816-38), who launched afull-scale jihad against Byzantine Sicily, that this history begins. Faced with a numberof domestic problems - a restless and underemployed army, tensions between anurban Arab elite and disenfranchised Berber tribes, Kharijite insurrections, squabblesamong the religious factions, hostility aroused by the jurists and their supporters, andcharges of moral and political corruption - Ziyadat Allah found an expedient solutionto all these problems in the creation of an external enemy to which he could direct allthe negative attention.

In order to bypass a treaty with Byzantine Sicily which his predecessor hadbrokered and to counteract the overwhelming opposition of the Ifrlqiyan jurists towhat would be considered an illegal act of war, Ziyadat Allah sought the counsel ofhis two chief judges, Abu Muhriz and Asad b. al-Furat. The former, representing themajority opinion of the jurists, urged caution, while the maverick Asad seized the dayand, equipped with information about the illegal detention of Muslim prisoners inSicily which would make the treaty null and void, urged the emir to proceed with theattack.9

Grateful for the advice, Ziyadat Allah responded by appointing Asad b. al-Furatthe commander of the army, while specifying that he was to maintain his position asQayrawan's (second) chief judge. The sometime-Malikl, sometime-Hanafi Asad roseto the occasion by assembling a naval fleet of a hundred ships, a cavalry of sevenhundred, and an infantry of ten thousand, drawn from the diverse elements ofIfrlqiyan society: Arabs of many tribes, Berbers, Persians, professional soldiers, as

8 Dachraoui cites the post-afternoon prayer classes {durus al-hikmah) and the evening debates(majdlis al-hikmah) that were institutionalized in order to spread Ismacili learning. For a comprehensiveand more recent study on this subject, see Heinz Halm, The Fatimids and Their Traditions of Learning(London: I.B. Tauris, 1997).

9 For a detailed account of the circumstances of the jihad and the ensuing debate, see al-Maliki,Riydd al-nufus, 185-89; also Amari, SMS, 1:367-92. For further information on the life and career ofAsad b. al-Furat, see W. Granara, "Ibn Sabil: Crossing Boundaries in the Biography of Asad," ScriptaMediterranea 19-20 (1998-99): 259-67.

r154 William Granara

well as scholars and jurists. Describing a scene of beating drums, neighing horses,and waving banners, with huge throngs of citizens in attendance, the historian al-Malikl recounts a short speech Asad delivered on that Spring day in 212/827, at theend of which he quoted the Quranic injunction: "Exert your minds and bodies in thesearch and pursuit of knowledge; increase it and be patient with its intensity, for, withit, you will gain this world and the next."10 The launching of jihad in all its pageantry,replete with its spiritual and intellectual symbols, not only provided some immediatesolutions to the Aghlabid rulership's problems, but laid the foundations for thesubsequent history of Islamic Sicily. What was to follow in the next two centurieswas the development of a ghdzT society on the frontiers between Islam andChristendom, whose first order of business would remain jihad, with all its politicaland legal ramifications.

Unlike the Muslim conquest of Visigothic Spain a little more than a centuryearlier, which occurred under a still politically united Islamic Empire that paidallegiance to the Umayyad caliphate in Damascus, the conquest of Sicily was theexclusive project of the autonomous ruling family of the Aghlabids of Ifriqiya.11

Also, the relatively easy entry of the Muslims into the Iberian peninsula, facilitated bya seriously divided and weakened government and a discontented population only toowilling to support any new regime, contrasts sharply with the difficulties theAghlabids faced in the Sicilian conquest. With Asad's premature death within thefirst year of the jihad, the subsequent crises in maintaining a chain of militarycommand, not to mention the fierce Byzantine resistance, plagues, and other naturalcatastrophes that befell the Muslim forces, the Aghlabids had to keep a constant eyeand a generous hand over this overseas project, from which they had much to gain inthe way of booty and prestige. What had taken the Muslims five years to accomplishin securing Spain took their co-religionists seventy years to achieve in Sicily, and thatonly by constant reinforcement with waves of expeditionary forces of the professionalArab jund and Berber conscripts recruited from the general Ifrfqiyan population. Theinjection of these elements into Sicily - which lasted throughout the two centuries ofMuslim rule - created a majority population with irrevocable ties to the mothercountry, Ifriqiya.

The importance of Sicily as a locus of jihad for the economic, military, andpolitical survival of the Ifriqiyan rulership is amply attested in both the primary andsecondary sources. Recent scholarship has emphasized how well this was understoodby the Fatimids during their campaign against the Aghlabids, which culminated in theFatimid victory of 297/909.12 The historical chronicles show how quickly the newMahdi, cUbayd Allah, appointed a governor and chief judges to Sicily once he set uphis government in Raqqadah.13 What these appointments reveal is a careful balance,

10 al-Malikl, Riyad al-nufus, 187-88.11 For the most complete and authoritative study on the Aghlabids, see Mohamed Talbi, L'tmirat

Aghlabide 800-909 (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1966).12 Amari, SMS 2:148-49; W. Granara, Political Legitimacy and Jihad in Muslim Sicily, 827-1053,

Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1986; A. Pellitteri, I Fatimiti.13 Most information on the political and dynastic history of Sicily comes from the later universal

histories of Ibn al-Athlr {al-Kamilfi al-tdrlkh: BAS, 35) al-Nuwayri (Nihayat al-arab: BAS, 48) and Ibn

Islamic Educati

at least in the early yeathe one hand, and menthe local Sicilian popiselected as chief judgechosen for predominant

More enlightening \al-Nucman (d. 358/96'achieved in three ways:the Sicilian jihad, and 1illegitimacy of their rulthe Mahdi exhorts thesouls, just as it has beeyou be led away fromagainst anyone who w<change it."14 He alsopraising their bravery fagainst them.15

It is clear that the mthe Aghlabid ruling farninth and tenth centuriIslamic ummah. Sicil;factor, politically and (eleventh century, longappointment of BuluggZirid dynasty, Ifriqiysentity. The long and KBadls (r. 408-54/1017the re-emergence of ttand a renewed and aggi

In 416/1025, in reforays into Sicily, Muc

full pageantry of Islamsea destroyed most oiNormans. In 429/103(disputes among the wcommander of an expmany of Sicily's not;evacuations from the is

Khaldun (Kitab al-cIbar. ftall three may have drawn on

14 al-Qadi al-Nucman, ITunisiyah li'l-Tawzf, 1986;

15 al-Qadi al-Nucman, Ij16 For the most detailed

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 155

at least in the early years, between trusted servants committed to the Shiite cause onthe one hand, and men who would represent the interests of - or at least not offend -the local Sicilian population on the other. For instance, an ethnic Arab would beselected as chief judge in predominantly Arab Palermo, while a Berber would bechosen for predominantly Berber Agrigento.

More enlightening have been the texts of the Fatimid jurist and historian, al-Qadial-Nucman (d. 358/967), which recount the Mahdi's appeal for Sicilian support,achieved in three ways: by deferring to the caliph in Baghdad, by strongly supportingthe Sicilian jihad, and by condemning the moral decadence of the Aghlabids and theillegitimacy of their rule. In language reminiscent of Asad's speech cited previously,the Mahdl exhorts the Sicilians: "Undertake jihad with your possessions and yoursouls, just as it has been prescribed for you. Resist licentiousness and sacrileges, lestyou be led away from the rightful path of your religion; and defend your religionagainst anyone who would alter it, and free yourselves from those who innovate orchange it."14 He also promises them in a letter his full support of war materiel,praising their bravery for living so close to the polytheist enemy and defending Islamagainst them.15

It is clear that the massive military, economic, and human investments which boththe Aghlabid ruling family and their Fatimid successors poured into Sicily during theninth and tenth centuries made Sicily a province of Ifriqiya and a part of the greaterIslamic ummah. Sicily's connection to Ifriqiya would continue to be a dominantfactor, politically and culturally, in the development of Sicilian Islam throughout theeleventh century, long after the Fatimid caliph moved to Cairo in 361/972. With theappointment of Buluggln b. Zlrl as governor of Ifriqiya and the establishment of theZirid dynasty, Ifriqiya and its provinces emerged as a semi-autonomous politicalentity. The long and relatively successful reign of the fourth Zirid prince, Mucizz b.Badls (r. 408-54/1017-62), saw the final break with the Fatimid caliphate in Egypt,the re-emergence of the MalikI jurists of Qayrawan onto the religio-political scene,and a renewed and aggressive interest in Sicily.

In 416/1025, in response to the Norman conquest of Southern Italy and theirforays into Sicily, Mucizz assembled a massive naval expedition, once again with thefull pageantry of Islamic jihad, to support the Sicilian Muslims. But a violent storm atsea destroyed most of the fleet and thwarted Ifriqiya's attempts to push back theNormans. In 429/1036, in response to Sicilian appeals to help resolve the violentdisputes among the warring Sicilian factions, Mucizz sent his son cAbd Allah ascommander of an expedition which ended in failure. His return to Qayrawan withmany of Sicily's notables and their families initiated the first wave of Muslimevacuations from the island.16

Khaldun (Kitab al-clbar. BAS, 50). Amari observes that their accounts are quite similar, suggesting thatall three may have drawn on one contemporary source. SMS 1:373-74.

14 al-Qadi al-Nucman, Iftitah al-dacwah, ed. Farhat al-DashrawI (Dachraoui) (Tunis: al-Sharikah al-Tunislyah Ii'l-Tawzlc, 1986), 191.

15 al-Qadi al-Nucman, Iftitah al-dacwah, 256-57.16 For the most detailed account of these events, see Ibn al-Athir in BAS 35:271-78.

156 William Granara

Undeterred by the hostile and fractious situation in Sicily, not to mention theinvasions of North Africa by the Arabian Banu Hilal tribes, Mucizz's son Tamim (r.454-503/1062-1108) continued his father's role as protector of Sicily, with similarresults. As the Muslims of Sicily self-destructed and the Normans made their waysouthward, the Zirid princes could only watch in despair as their prized possessionwas being wrested away from them. The feelings of loss and despair, eloquentlyexpressed in the verses of the Zirid court poet and Sicily's most prominent exile, IbnHamdis (1055-1132),17 encapsulate the history of Muslim Sicily and its multi-facetedrelationship to Ifriqiya.

The Tradition ofSahniln

By the time the emir Ziyadat Allah decided to wage a jihad against Sicily in 212/827,Qayrawan had developed into a flourishing urban center and was imperial capital tothe greater province of Ifriqiya. Since its founding in 50/670 by the Arab generalcUqbah b. al-Nafic, it had grown in prestige as a center for Islamic learning andculture. The sources report that cUqbah counted some twenty-five Companions of theProphet among his soldiers, and that the Umayyad Caliph cUmar b. cAbd al-cAziz (r.99-102/717-20) later sent ten leading religious scholars to teach the Islamic faith to

1 8

the newly conquered lands of the West. The establishment of the Mosque of SidlcUqbah (The Grand Mosque of Qayrawan) and the proliferation of the mosqueschools (kuttdb, pi. katatib), first in the urban centers and later throughout the ruralareas,19 attracted eminent scholars from the east, and encouraged more and more ofthe indigenous North African population to come into the Islamic fold.

Qayrawan in the early ninth century could boast not only ethnic and religiousdiversity - Arabs and Berbers of many tribes, Christians, Jews, and Persians - butIslamic sectarian diversity as well. Kharijism as a political movement enjoyed widepopular appeal, and Kharijite theology was taught at the leading institutions. TheMurji3ite sect had adherents among the local culamd\ and Muctazilism, the creed ofchoice of the Aghlabid court and many of the Qayrawani intellectual elite, was wellknown. Issues that were debated throughout the Islamic East, such as predestination,divine anthropomorphism, and the created or uncreated nature of the Qur°an, werealso debated and contested among Qayrawan's leading scholars of law and theology.

Beyond simple diversity, there was an important split between what wouldeventually be more accurately called Malikis and Hanafis among the Sunni culama3

of Ifriqiya. That is, most scholars followed the doctrines attributed to the Medinan

17 For a summary of his life and work, see W. Granara, "Remaking Muslim Sicily: Ibn Hamdis and

the Poetics of Exile," Edebiyat 9 (1998): 167-98.18 For the primary sources, see Abu al-cArab, Tabaqdt; Malikl, Riydd al-nufiis. For secondary

sources, see G. Marcais, La Berberie musulmane et VOrient au Moyen Age (Paris: Aubier, 1946); H. H.cAbd al-Wahhab, Waraqdt can al-hadarah al-carablyah bi-Ifrlqiya al-tiinislyah (Tunis: Maktabat al-Manar, 1965-66); Muhammad al-Talibl (Talbi), "al-BVah allati ansha3at Sahniin: cdlim al-Qayrawdn160-240/777-854," in Etudes d'Histoire Ifriqiyenne et de Civilisation musulmane medievale (Tunis:Universite de Tunis, 1982), pp. 91-164.

19Talibi, "al-BVah," 140,152.

Islamic Educe

Malik b. Anas or theHanafi scholars, ususometimes espousedsuspicious of systemawith ancient Muslimmadhhabs could be sistudied with both Mathe boundaries were nc

The triumph ofdocumented, but mayof the jurists over threassertion of popularTheologically, the casopposed to rationalistthe Ismaclli strand of S

Malikism, as a schcby strict emulation ccommunity. The figilaw (QurDan and haditand the exemplar of Pidisciples claimed in ttheir authority by an ajreligious, cultural, an<predestination, the crMalikism from the otMedinan community,communities by virtuetradition. Partly in resfintellectual activity, thnotion medinoise d'uneMedina's holding a sprival scholars,24 it took

20 al-Qadi cIyad b. Mi(Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hautour du rite de Malik," Ahprophete (sunna) et lutte con(179/795) au K. al-Gamic d'l

21 This combination of liof the Prophet may reflectauthority. On the applicatiohistory, see Hamid Dabashi,1989), 34, 72-73, 105,113.

22 A. Turki, "Defense," 1by Malikl scholars.

23 Brunschvig, "Polemiqu24 Brunschv ig discusses

175/791) , al-ShaficI (d. 204/8

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 157

Malik b. Anas or the Iraqi Abu Hanlfah and their immediate disciples. It was theHanafI scholars, usually favored over the MalikJs by the Aghlabid court, whosometimes espoused Muctazili doctrines. The Malikls, on the other hand, weresuspicious of systematic theologizing and portrayed their own views as more in linewith ancient Muslim practice. Although the divisions between these two nascentmadhhabs could be sharp, the educational experiences of Asad b. al-Furat, who hadstudied with both Malik in Medina and disciples of Abu Hanlfah in Iraq, show thatthe boundaries were not impermeable.

The triumph of Malikism over Hanafism in North Africa is thoroughlydocumented, but may be read in several ways. Politically, it may be seen as a victoryof the jurists over the governors; socially or economically, it may be seen as areassertion of popular rights against the excesses of an exploitative Arab upper-class.Theologically, the case has been made that it was a decisive victory of those juristsopposed to rationalist theological systems like those of the Muctazilah, first, and ofthe Ismacill strand of Shiism, later.

Malikism, as a school of both Islamic law and theology, is characterized above allby strict emulation of the practice (camal) or lived experience of the Medinancommunity.20 The figure of Malik b. Anas, as the jurist most knowledgeable of thelaw (QurDan and hadith), the most eminent of the pious ancestors (al-salaf al-sdlih),and the exemplar of Prophetic piety and asceticism, embodied the authority which hisdisciples claimed in their ascendancy.21 The MalikI jurists effectively legitimatedtheir authority by an aggressive campaign against all forms of what they identified asreligious, cultural, and social innovation {bid0ah), which included such ideas aspredestination, the created Quran, and anthropomorphism. What distinguishesMalikism from the other schools of Sunni Islam is its emphasis on the historicalMedinan community, deemed to possess an authority superior to that of othercommunities by virtue of its proximity to the site of Divine revelation and Prophetictradition. Partly in response to the growing influence of Iraq as the center of Islamicintellectual activity, the disciples of Malik advanced what R. Brunschvig terms: "lanotion medinoise d'une source geographique unique de la loi."23 Although this idea ofMedina's holding a special authority in Islamic law was contested successfully byrival scholars,24 it took root in the major centers of learning throughout North Africa

20 a l -Qadl c Iyad b . Musa , Tartlb al-maddrik wa-taqrlb al-masdlik, ed. A h m a d Bakir M a h m u d(Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, 1968), 5 8 - 8 1 . See also Robert Brunschvig, "Polemiques medievalesautour du rite de Malik," Al-Andalus 15 (1950): 377—43; Abdel-Majid Turki, "Defense de la tradition duprophete (sunna) et lutte contre l ' innovation blamable (bidcah) dans le malikisme: du Muwatta3 de Malik(179/795) au K. al-Gamic d ' lbn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawanl (386/996)," Studia Islamica 87 (1998): 5-34.

21 This combinat ion of legal knowledge, association with the traditional elders, and the exemplarityof the Prophet may reflect Max W e b e r ' s paradigm of legal, t radit ional and char ismat ic modes ofauthority. On the application of W e b e r ' s notions on authority and their applicabili ty to early Islamichistory, see Hamid Dabashi , Authority in Islam (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers,1989), 34,72-73,105, 113.

22 A. Turki, "Defense," 16-17. He points out that half of all Muslims treatises on bidcah are authoredby MalikI scholars.

23 Brunschvig , "Polemiques ," 384.24 Brunschvig discusses three scholars w h o contested the pr imacy of Medina : a l -Layth b . Sa c d (d.

175/791), al-Shafi cI (d. 204/820) , and Ibn Hazm (d. 458/1064) . "Polemiques , " 3 7 9 - 9 8 .

158 William Granara

by the mid-ninth century and helped Qayrawan grow into an influential center whichattracted scholars from all over the Muslim West.

The lion's share of credit for the triumph of Malikism in North Africa goes toSahnun b. Sacid (162-241/777-855), who figures in many hagiographies in MalikIliterature. The son of a mujdhid of Arab stock from the city of Hims (Syria), Sahnunmade his reputation as a man of impeccable character and unparalleled intellect. Hisearliest biographer, Abu al-cArab, describes him as follows: "He possessed qualitieswhich were not to be found combined in any other: perfect knowledge of the law,sincere piety, vigor in the application of justice, contempt for temporal things, simpletastes in food and clothing, generosity, and a refusal to accept anything fromprinces."25 An intellect that overwhelms all those who come into contact with him is adominant theme in Sahnun's biography. In fact, the nickname Sahnun, meaning asparrow, was given to him for the sharpness and speed with which he answeredquestions on law. As a student, Sahnun could boast an impressive list of teachers anda vast library of texts he had committed to memory. The rapidity and depth of hisunderstanding of legal problems and intricacies was proverbial; he became thestandard by which all others were judged.

The teaching profession, revered in the Islamic tradition, was instrumental in theIslamization and Arabization of North Africa. In the great mosques at Qayrawan andTunis, the hundreds of Qur3an schools in urban and rural areas, and private homes,Muslim teachers spread the faith and taught their students how to live lives of pietyand devotion. As a teacher, Sahnun once again stands out. The characteristics{shamdHl) that shaped his intellect served him well as a teacher. References to his700 students from all parts of the earth (hyperbole reflective of the hagiographic andmythical dimensions of his biography) bear witness to his fame. These studentswould then become beacons of knowledge (masdblh) in their own countries.26

Sahnun's long list of teachers, renowned scholars and disciples of Malik, matched hislong list of students.

As both student and teacher, Sahnun rose to the highest rank of his madhhab byway of suhbah: "He was the most intelligent, the most learned, and the most giftedlegal mind as a disciple (sdhiban) ... and these were the qualities which his disciples(ashdb) adopted."27 The institution of suhbah, defined by George Makdisi as'companionship,' 'discipleship,' and 'fellowship,' is criticial to understanding thepersonal relationship between teacher and student (or between teacher and disciple)that was the essence of Islamic education.28 Like the isndd in hadith, the institution ofsuhbah finds its highest expression in successful and reliable transmission ofknowledge, not only from earlier scholars to the present, but also to the followinggeneration.

25 Abu al-cArab, Tabaqat, 101; M. Talbi (Talibi), "Sahnun," El2. 8:845. For his complete biography,see al-Qadi cIyad, Tartlb, 1:585-624; Muhammad al-Talibl, Tarajim aghdlibah (Tunis: Universite deTunis, 1968), 86-136. Talbi's collection contains extracts from the Tartlb, but more carefully edited.

26 Talibi, Tarajim, 120.27 Talibi, Tarajim, 98.28 George Makdisi, "Suhba et Riyasa dans l'Enseignement Medieval," Recherches d'Islamologie

(Louvain: Peeters, 1978), 207.

Islamic Educai

Sahnun's reputatioriydsah, i.e., the high<Talibi describes his iMaghreb, and what hwhich the QayrawaniMalikI scholar. It wasSahnun achieved in p;from the most reputabfor Maghrebis; in thisand contemporaries,connection to that of hi

According to Maistudied in the Hijaz arjmost eminent discipkquestions with only c<more interested in proand Malik, Asad settprobably taught both 1well as the materials hemphasize the importaadd further details, to 1claimed, managed to \transmitted by Asad.access to these. Undeimaterials for himself, iso the story goes, readIbn al-Qasim's commeMalikI law in the M;stemming from Asad.be called the Mudawwremoved from Asad'swrong.

In his study on earlof the formal featuresauthored text: "It is aproblems and perceptiimaterial."32 He correcllegal tradition and linkYahya b. Yahya recen

29 See Makdisi, "Suhba'30 Talibi, Tarajim, 94.31 MalikI, Riyad al-nufi

Asad, and Ibn al-Qasim,Entstehungsgeschichte und

32 N o r m a n Calder , Studi

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 159

Sahnun's reputation as scholar and teacher was built upon his achievement ofriyasah, i.e., the highest position, the status of most knowledgeable in one's field.29

TalibI describes his status: "He achieved riyasah in knowledge throughout theMaghreb, and what he said was authoritative. He composed the Mudawwanah onwhich the Qayrawani jurists depended, and he had more disciples than any otherMaliki scholar. It was through him that Malikism spread in the Maghreb."30 ThisSahnun achieved in part by undertaking a journey {rihlah) in search of knowledgefrom the most reputable scholars of the time. The rihlah was particularly importantfor Maghrebis; in this respect, Sahnun followed in the footsteps of his predecessorsand contemporaries. His journey to the east was typical in many ways, but itsconnection to that of his rival, Asad b. al-Furat, sheds light on Sahnun's overall goals.

According to Maliki sources, when Asad reached Egypt, having previouslystudied in the Hijaz and Iraq, he contacted Ibn Wahb, Ashhab, and Ibn al-Qasim, themost eminent disciple of Malik. Unhappy with Ibn Wahb, who responded to hisquestions with only confirmed hadith reports, and annoyed with Ashhab, who wasmore interested in promoting his own views than those of the masters Abu Hanifahand Malik, Asad settled on Ibn al-Qasim. Upon his return to Qayrawan, Asadprobably taught both the Iraqi-Hanaf! material he had learned while in the East, aswell as the materials he had learned during his studies with Ibn al-Qasim. In order toemphasize the importance of Sahnun to the Maliki madhhab, however, Maliki authorsadd further details, to the detriment of Asad, but to the glory of Sahnun. Sahnun, it isclaimed, managed to write out for himself many of the teachings of Ibn al-Qasim astransmitted by Asad. Asad became suspicious, however, and increasingly restrictedaccess to these. Undeterred, Sahnun succeeded in making a complete copy of thsematerials for himself, which he then took to Egypt and to Ibn al-Qasim. Sahnun then,so the story goes, read them back to Ibn al-Qasim, and corrected them on the basis ofIbn al-Qasim's comments.31 This corrected version then became the standard text ofMaliki law in the Maghreb and the Andalus - purged, of course, of accretionsstemming from Asad. Because it is the version "written down" by Sahnun, it came tobe called the Mudawwanah. The implication of the story, in part, is that what Sahnunremoved from Asad's version was deemed, by consensus of the madhhab, to bewrong.

In his study on early Islamic legal works, Norman Calder concludes from a studyof the formal features and sections of material in the Mudawwanah that it was not anauthored text: "It is a school text which grew organically in response to ongoingproblems and perceptions that emerged and disturbed the scholars who preserved thematerial."32 He correctly situates it as one of the two canonical texts of the Malikilegal tradition and links the Mudawwanah to Qayrawan and Malik's Muwatta3 of theYahya b. Yahya recension to Cordoba. He states, "They were local canons reflecting

29 See Makdis i , " S u h b a " for a discussion of riyasah and its importance in Islamic education.30 TalibI, Tardjim, 94.31 Maliki, Riydd al-nufus, 178-81. On the relationship between the works and teachings of Sahnun,

Asad, and Ibn al-Qasim, see M. Muranyi, Die Rechtsbucher des Qairawaners Sahnun b. Sacid:Entstehungsgeschichte und Werkuberlieferung (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1999).

32 Norman Calder, Studies in Early Islamic Jurisprudence (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), 11.

160 William Granara

«33the state of legal thought in a particular place at a particular time." The form of thefinal text, comprised of notebooks addressing many questions taken up by a numberof scholars throughout the Muslim world, gives credence to Calder'scharacterization.34 Sahnun's sole authorship of the text is validly questioned, but ofconcern are the long-term ramifications of the association of the man with the text, sodeeply institutionalized in the religious and legal culture of the medieval Maghreb.

What Sahnun did to the text of the Mudawwanah parallels what he did to themosques and other institutions of learning over which he held sway throughout theMaghreb in his capacity as chief judge. At the age of seventy-four, Sahnungrudgingly accepted the position offered to him by the Aghlabid prince, MuhammadII b. Ahmad (r. 250-56/864-75), on condition that he be allowed to perform hisduties with complete independence and with a clear mandate to redress abuses,beginning with the royal family itself and its coterie of government employees. Trueto his word never to accept money or gifts from rulers, Sahnun refused any stipendand chose to pay his staff with money from the poll tax (jizyah) levied on Christiansand Jews.

As chief judge Sahnun replaced the veteran Muctazili jurist, Ibn Abi Jawad, theson-in-law of Asad b. al-Furat, who had held the post for eighteen years. With tablesturned, Sahnun ordered Ibn Abi Jawad to be flogged severely in prison for crimes offiscal misconduct. Ibn Abi Jawad succumbed to his wounds. After a short bout ofguilt, Sahnun turned his attention to ridding Qayrawan of what he considered to be itsheretical elements. With a violence that contrasts sharply with his reputation as akindly, patient, and pious man, he banished all forms of non-Sunni teaching from themosques. Abu al-cArab writes: "He was the first [judge] to banish the heretics fromthe Grand Mosque, where classes on Sufrite and Ibadite Kharijism were held."35 Hisbiographies also state that in his campaign against cheating and embezzlement,Sahnun applied rigorous standards of conduct in the marketplace, bringing the officeof price controls (hisbah) under his jurisdiction and reorganizing the system for taxcollection.36 He had a special room built at the Mosque where litigants could pleadtheir cases in privacy, and this practice (sunnah) continued as long as Malikis held theposition of chief judge.37

Toward the end of his biography on Sahnun, al-Qadi cIyad includes an anecdote inwhich cAbd Allah b. al-Khashshab al-Andalusi dreamed that he saw the Prophetwalking along a road, followed by Abu Bakr. Behind Abu Bakr was cUmar, behindcUmar was Malik, and behind Malik was Sahnun. The anecdote finishes with Ibn al-Waddah, a Maghrebi jurist, saying that when he related this dream to Sahnun, he wasvery happy.38 This dream projects a clear image of the Islamic orthodox ideal, one inwhich a direct line of charismatic authority through the transmission of personality is

33 Calder, Studies, 17.34 Calder's account is confirmed by Muranyi in its general outlines but not in its specific details. See

Muranyi, Rechtsbiicher.35 Abu al-cArab, Tabaqdt, 102.36 Talibl, Tarajim, 104.37 Talibi, Tarajim, 105.38 Talibl, Tarajim, 134.

Islamic Educat

established. This imagand the Muslim West,two righteous (unequpersonas of cUthmanlegitimates the line of a

Sahnun began his piwhich Makdisi has desback to the source, theof Malik. He patternedCompanions. He atterationalist views and pto purge the mosque s<eliminate dissent, estaiinstitutional sense, butas a prototype of the pc

The dream's imagebegan with the Propheof that line and thebequeathing the taskconstitutes orthodoxy 1forms of dissent or i'madhhab' of the entsacred locale. Sahnun'Sahnun and Qayrawan

Sahnun's son MuhzMalikI madhhab upoiMuhammad was oneMuhammad b. cAbdusdividing the QayravcAbdusIyah.42 From IVdifferent temperamentcomplemented the wpractitioner of what SThe first was his ex

39 George Makdisi, "FrLa Notion de liberte au ASourdel-Thomine (Paris: Sc

^"The collapse of themotion two developmentsthese developments was thgradual monopolization ofGeorge Makdisi, "InstitutiHovanisjian and S. Vryonis

41 See note 21.42 MalikI , Riydd al-nuj

see 360-63.

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 161

established. This image reflects Sahnun's goal of madhhab-building for Qayrawanand the Muslim West. It begins with the Prophet himself, and passes through the firsttwo righteous (unequivocally orthodox) caliphs. Skipping over the problematicpersonas of cUthman and cAli (third and fourth caliphs), the hierarchal continuitylegitimates the line of authority as established by Malik and ending with Sahnun.

Sahnun began his project through the process of taqlid, "investing with authority,"which Makdisi has described as Islam's method of determining orthodoxy.39 He wentback to the source, the tradition of the Prophet, and continued on the path (madhhab)of Malik. He patterned his life on the model bequeathed to him by the Prophet and hisCompanions. He attempted to establish and codify a canonical text, devoid ofrationalist views and personal opinions and without authorial biases. He campaignedto purge the mosque schools of unorthodox, heretical teachings, intending thereby toeliminate dissent, establish consensus (ijmdc), and build a madhhab, not in the laterinstitutional sense, but in a broader religio-ethical sense. Thus, we may view Sahnunas a prototype of the post-Inquisition restorers of orthodoxy.40

The dream's image of Sahnun walking behind Malik in a chain of authority thatbegan with the Prophet Muhammad could only find its true force in the continuanceof that line and the routinization of its authority.41 For Sahnun, this meantbequeathing the task of madhhab-building to future generations. In defining whatconstitutes orthodoxy through this clear line of authorial transmission, eliminating allforms of dissent or innovation, Sahnun laid the foundation of Malikism as the'madhhab' of the entire Maghreb, making of Qayrawan a replica of Medina as asacred locale. Sahnun's students and disciples projected and reinforced the image ofSahnun and Qayrawan as the western extension of Malik and Medina.

Sahnun's son Muhammad (202-56/817-70) was the heir apparent and imam of theMalikI madhhab upon his father's death in 240/854. According to MalikI sources,Muhammad was one of two most outstanding students of Sahnun, the other beingMuhammad b. cAbdus (202-60/817-74). There grew a great rivalry between the two,dividing the Qayrawani Malikls into two camps: al-Muhammadlyah and al-cAbdusIyah.42 From Muhammad b. Sahnun's biography emerges a personality of adifferent temperament, a scholar of immense accomplishment, whose prolific outputcomplemented the work of his father. Three areas of activity mark him as thepractitioner of what Sahnun strove to conceptualize and legislate for his madhhab.The first was his extraordinary eloquence in public sermons (mawcizah) and

39 George Makdisi, "Freedom in Islamic Jurisprudence: Ijtihad, Taqlid, and Academic Freedom," inLa Notion de liberte au Moyen Age: Islam, Byzance, Occident, eds. G. Makdisi, D. Sourdel, and J.Sourdel-Thomine (Paris: Societe d'Edition Les Belles Lettres, 1985), 81.

^"The collapse of the Inquisition and the consequent political defeat of the Muctazilites set inmotion two developments of capital importance for the resurgence of conservative Islam. The first ofthese developments was the relatively rapid compilation of hadith collections, and the second was thegradual monopolization of the masjid-mosque and its organization for the education of the jurisconsult."George Makdisi, "Institutional Learning as a Self-image," in Islam's Understanding of Itself, ed. R.Hovanisjian and S. Vryonis, Jr. (Malibu, California: Undena Publications, 1983), 77.

41 See note 21.42 MalikI, Riyad al-nufus, 362. For the full biography of Muhammad, see 345-60; for Ibn cAbd0s,

see 360-63.

162 William Granara

disputations (mundzarah). In contrast to his father's brash methods in forcing hisviews, the historians suggest a more tempered and cerebral approach for Muhammad.In one sermon, for example, he cautions the Aghlabid rulership against their sinfulways in a subtle, measured tone, full of humility and heartfelt advice.

The second area was defense of the faith, in which Muhammad exhibited patienceand courage in the face of adversity, a test of the true mujdhid. In a polemicallycharged anecdote, his biography records how the rival Hanafls of Qayrawan hired aman to harass him publicly and insult him in front of his students. Muhammadexercised restraint by not responding. Then, on another such occasion, he respondedto the harasser's whispered insult with an invitation to his home that evening. Havingthe crowd think that he was asking a favor, Muhammad put the man on the defensive.When the Hanafi instigators fired the harasser, depriving him of his only means ofsupport, Muhammad won him over, and the anecdote ends in praise of his patience,craft, and kindness in a hostile situation. Muhammad's biography also shows him as adefender of the faith in the physical sense. He frequently spent time in one of thefortified monasteries (ribdt) that lined the North African coast and that served as bothmilitary and monastic retreats for Muslims. In the face of a surprise Byzantine attack,Muhammad was supposedly able to mount his mule and assemble enough soldiers tofight off the invaders.

Muhammad's third area of activity was scholarly writing. Unlike his father, towhom is attributed only the Mudawwanah, Muhammad boasts a long list of works,including books on the prohibition of alcohol (Tahrim al-sakar); refutations of freethinkers and to Christians (al-Radd cald ahl al-bidcah, Kitdb al-Tmdn wa 'l-radd caldahl al-shirk, al-Hujjah cald al-qadarlyah and al-Hujjah cald al-nasdrd); and treatiseson governance (al-Imdmah), holy war (al-Jihdd) and piety (al-Warac). He also wrotea commentary on the Muwatta3, a biographical dictionary of learned men, and ageneral history. Of particular interest are two pedagogical works that underscore theimportance of well-trained disciples for the madhhab: one deals with protocol fordisputation (Md yajib cald al-mutandzirln min husn al-adab), and the other is amanual for teachers (Kitdb dddb al-m^allimin).44 The latter, among the first works ofits kind in Islamic literature, discusses such issues as what to teach, classroomconduct and etiquette, salaries, graduation protocol, and the appropriateness ofreceiving gifts from students or their families. A major characteristic of the work isthe format of questions directed to Sahnun along with his responses, giving the worka hadith-like quality and upholding Sahnun as the ultimate authority in transmittingProphetic traditions through Malik.

Intellectual and Cultural Florescence at the Kalbid Court

The appointment of Sahnun as chief judge of Qayrawan in 236/850 by the Aghlabidprince Muhammad I blurs the commonly held view of a clearly divided power

43 Malik!, Riydd al-nufus, 3 4 8 - 4 9 .44 For a complete list of his works, see Muhammad b. Sahnun, Kitdb dddb al-mucallimln, ed.

Mahmud cAbd al-Mawla (Algiers: al-Sharikah al-Watamyah li'1-Nashr wa'1-Tawzf, 1973), 50-51.

Islamic Educa

structure pitting the rlines. On the other haisupport among the wi<the Aghlabids were rid

War provided opmarginalized segmenopposition to their oveand onto the battlefielcsoldiers, and booty anAghlabid coffers. Thethe command and subFurat, gave the Muslidefend the faith in thefirst generations of iconscripts, religiouscraftsmen and artisansMalik and the MedinarThese first generationson Arabic and Islamic <

The leadership of tlmilitary conflict, wasloyal support to theAghlabids in the ninththe scholars and pioimujdhid's life. The of]Sicily as well. Dachnduring both Aghlabid «no discernible changethe sources to show teither. This is undoubtof the two-tier judgeshi

From the relativelyto Sicily during the firsl

(a) Abd Allah b. Sahl idistinguished Maliki scMajishun, Ibn Sallanx

45 For expediency, the fcited after each entry. In ad(b. Musa (see n. 20); Dlbdj =Muhammad al-Ahmadi AbuMacdlim al-lmdn fi macrifatQiftI, Inbdh al-ruwdt cald aiKutub al-Misriyah, 1951-73;

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 163

structure pitting the ruling family against the masses strictly along Hanafi/Malikilines. On the other hand, it reflects the growing influence of the Maliki jurists whosesupport among the wider population was considerable, but ironically at a time whenthe Aghlabids were riding the crest of their successes in the Sicilian jihad.

War provided opportunities for economically disempowered and sociallymarginalized segments of the population. The government channeled politicalopposition to their overseas adventure, sending the restless army out of the barracksand onto the battlefield. Seized Sicilian land made it possible to resettle North Africansoldiers, and booty and taxes collected from the conquered peoples replenished theAghlabid coffers. The spiritual and scholarly symbolism of the jihad, culminating inthe command and subsequent martyrdom of the leading faqih and qddi Asad b. al-Furat, gave the Muslims of Ifriqiya the chance to fulfill religious obligations anddefend the faith in the manner of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. Thefirst generations of mujdhidun coming into Sicily - professional soldiers andconscripts, religious scholars and jurists of different persuasions and creeds,craftsmen and artisans - were all steeped in the Prophetic traditions, the teachings ofMalik and the Medinan elders, and the emulation (camal) of Sahnun and his disciples.These first generations planted the seeds of Islam on Sicilian soil and left their markon Arabic and Islamic culture for as long as it survived on the island.

The leadership of the Muslim Sicilian community, as a warrior society engaged inmilitary conflict, was chosen from the highest ranks of the jund who demonstratedloyal support to the ruling family in Ifriqiya. This was the case with both theAghlabids in the ninth century and the Fatimids in the tenth. In non-military matters,the scholars and pious elite attended to the religious and legal aspects of themujahid's life. The office of the chief judge held jurisdiction over these matters inSicily as well. Dachraoui is correct in emphasizing the importance of this officeduring both Aghlabid and Fatimid rule. However, just as the jihad proper underwentno discernible change from the one government to the other, there is no evidence inthe sources to show that there were significant changes in the judiciary structureeither. This is undoubtedly attributed, as Dachraoui points out, to the Fatimid policyof the two-tier judgeship in making judiciary appointments.

From the relatively scant sources available, I have identified six judges appointedto Sicily during the first century of the jihad:45

(a) Abd Allah b. Sahl al-Qibriyani (d. 248/862): master (shaykh) in his field, reliable,distinguished Maliki scholar and jurist; precise in his writings. He studied with Ibn al-Majishun, Ibn Sallam, Asad b. al-Furat, and Sahnun, whose support he enjoyed.

4 For expediency, the following list and subsequent ones draw their information from the sourcescited after each entry. In addition to the abbreviations for Amari's works, BAS and SMS, Tartlb = cIyadb. Musa (see n. 20); Dlbaj = Ibn Farhun, al-Dlbdj al-mudhhab fi macrifat acydn ulama3 al-madhhab, ed.Muhammad al-Ahmadl Abu al-Nur (Cairo: Dar al-Turath); Macdlim = Abu Zayd Dabbagh and Ibn Naji,Macdlim al-lmdnfi macrifat ahl al-Qayrawdn (Cairo: Maktabat al-Khanji, 1968); Qft = Jalal al-Din al-Qiftl, Inbdh al-ruwdt cald anbdh al-nuhdt, 4 vols., ed. Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim (Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyah, 1951-73); for c Abbas, see n. 46.

164 William Granara

Sahnun appointed him to the judgeship in Tulaytilah, Qafsah and Nafzawah, and thenhe was appointed to the judgeship in Sicily. [Tartlb 2: 94]

(b) Muhammad b. Sulayman Ibn Kahhalah (d. 289/902): student of Sahnun and of hisson, Muhammad. He traveled to Medina and studied with Malik's son. Praised as areliable and prolific scholar of Quranic exegesis (tafslr) and law, he was judge atBajah and head of the grievance court (mazalim) in Qayrawan before his appointmentin 281/894 as chief judge in Sicily, where 'he spread much knowledge.' [Tartlb2:233; Macalim 2: 201; Dibaj 1:374]

(c) Dicamah b. Muhammad (d. 297/910): disciple of Sahnun who held the post ofchief judge in Sicily during Aghlabid rule. [SMS 2:259]

(d) Abu cAmr al-Maymun (d. 316/928): disciple of Sahnun who headed the grievancecourt in Qayrawan before his appointment as judge in Sicily. [BAS 28:191; Macdlim2:356-57]

(e) Abu al-Qasim al-TarzI (d. 317/929): disciple of Sahnun who headed the grievancecourt at Qayrawan with control over the markets (al-hisbah) before his appointmentas chief judge of Sicily by the Aghlabid prince Ziyadat Allah III (r. 290-97/903-9).[BAS 28:189; Macalim 3:9-10]

(f) Muhammad b. Ibrahim (d. 333/945): eminent jurist from Arabia who traveled toIfrlqiya and studied with the disciples of Sahnun. He was appointed judge of Sicilybut was later removed and imprisoned by Ziyadat Allah when he stopped hearingcases. [Tartib 2:357.]

These sketches show that the appointments were made from North Africa. Men ofconsiderable experience, they were trained in Malik! law with strong connections toSahnun and his disciples. This post was extremely important in Sicily during the firstyears of the jihad. The chief judge would be called on to decide issues such as thedistribution of land, the enactment or breaking of treaties, the levying of poll taxes onnon-Muslims and land and crop taxes on Muslims, the division of spoils of war, thetreatment of slaves and their legal status, and the disbursement of funds from the statetreasury. The presiding judge needed to know the sources of law, from the Qur°anand hadith, as well as the authoritative statements, practices and opinions of the piousforefathers. The implications of these issues went far beyond the realm of faith, andquick solutions and judgements required a thorough grounding in all aspects of thelaw. Whether a political or military leader abided by these judgements is anothermatter, but it is clear that Muslim society as it developed in Sicily was very muchgrounded in the theory and practice of Islamic law.

An irony that marks the history of Muslim Sicily is that close to the time when theAghlabid forces were completing their conquest of the island, the Islamic jihad fellinto the hands of the Fatimid caliphate, along with Ifrlqiya and the other provinces ofNorth Africa. The new Shiite regime embraced the Sicilian Muslims and invested

Islamic Educat

heavily in their jihinsurrections, and unhcFatimid control, militar

The appointment ofca. 330/940 marks thedistinguished themselviin putting down the Klsuccession spawned a <a degree of tranquilitythe Fatimid caliphateauthority who did not iof building naval streByzantium from a p(prosperity in which Ar;Sicilian Muslim archiKalbid court in Palermc

The recent publicatLearned Men and Poescholars, confirms theonly one line, most arepresented in fragmenilanguage studies, poetisources to Amari's Bibgeneral categories: schor political capacity; ]lives elsewhere; andmajority of their career;

Now follows a listgeneral patterns (immisection).

(a) Abu al-Hasan Ahmtheology and hadith. MAbu Bakr b. Yunus. [Tt

(b) Abu Bakr b. Yunuson which he wrote a b(had many students thnDlbaj 2:240-41]

(c) Muhammad al-Tub:composition and maste

46 Ihsan cAbbas, Mucja1994), is largely based onshicr al-Jazlrah, written aroi

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 165

heavily in their jihad. The historical chronicles mention initial problems,insurrections, and unholy political alliances, but eventually Sicily was brought underFatimid control, militarily, politically, and economically.

The appointment of Hasan b. AH b. Abi al-Husayn al-Kalbl as governor of Sicilyca. 330/940 marks the initial stages of autonomous rule for the island. His family haddistinguished themselves as loyal servants to the Fatimid court and were instrumentalin putting down the Kharijite insurrections lead by Abu Yazld. A process of dynasticsuccession spawned a cohesion and continuity in the political structure which createda degree of tranquility for the island. In addition, the judicious domestic policies ofthe Fatimid caliphate of appointing loyal and disciplined servants to positions ofauthority who did not upset the status quo, as well as their far-sighted foreign policiesof building naval strength, cultivating diplomacy and trade, and negotiating withByzantium from a position of strength, allowed Sicily a period of peace andprosperity in which Arabic culture could grow. By the latter half of the tenth century,Sicilian Muslim architecture and Arabic poetry and scholarship flourished at theKalbid court in Palermo.

The recent publication by Ihsan c Abbas of A Biographical Dictionary of SicilianLearned Men and Poets, although of considerable benefit to historians and literaryscholars, confirms the difficulty of studying Muslim Sicily.46 Some entries containonly one line, most are without birth or death dates, and even specimens of poetry arepresented in fragmented form. Most entries include snippets of information onlanguage studies, poetry, prose, prosody, grammar and philology. From the classicalsources to Amari's Biblioteca, those men associated with Sicily belong to one of threegeneral categories: scholars or judges who came to the island either in a professionalor political capacity; Muslims who were Sicilian-born but lived their professionallives elsewhere; and "indigenous" Sicilians who were born there and spent themajority of their careers on the island.

Now follows a list of indigenous Sicilians scholars who are representative ofgeneral patterns (immigrants to and emigrants from Sicily are discussed in the nextsection).

(a) Abu al-Hasan Ahmad Ibn al-Hasa3iri (d. ca. 416/1025): judge and scholar of law,theology and hadith. Many Sicilians studied law with him, including al-Samantarl andAbu Bakr b. Yunus. [Tartlb 2:715]

(b) Abu Bakr b. Yunus (d. c. 452/1060): jurisconsult and specialist in inheritance law,on which he wrote a book. He also wrote a commentary on the Mudawwanah, and hehad many students throughout the Maghreb. He was engaged in jihad. [Tartlb 2:800;Dibdj 2:240-41]

(c) Muhammad al-Tubl (d. 452/1060): grammarian and student of medicine; he taughtcomposition and mastered the art of epistolary writing. He was also an eloquent poet

46 Ihsan c Abbas, Mucjam al-culama3 wa'l-shucara3 al-siqilllyln (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islaml,1994), is largely based on the fragments of the Sicilian-born Ibn al-Qattac's al-Durrah al-khatlrah fishicr al-Jazlrah, written around 500/1107. See the introduction, pp. 5-11.

166 William Granara

and composed maqdmdt in the style of Badlc al-Zaman. [Qft 3:107-8; cAbbas184-201]

(d) Ibn Sahib al-Khums (d. ca. 452/1060): jurisconsult, theologian, and specialist inlegal theory and methodology. He was an active teacher and debater on theologicalquestions. [Tartlb 2:776]

(e) Abu Bakr Ibn al-cAbbas (d. ca. 452/1060): specialist in inheritance law; he wasalso a teacher oifiqh and taught the Mudawwanah.

(f) Ibn al-Birr (d. 462/1068): renowned scholar of philology who traveled to the Eastto study grammar and lexicography. He studied hadith with the son of Muhammad b.cAbdus and transmitted Jawhari's dictionary, al-Sihdh, to Sicily. He was expelledfrom Mazara for drinking alcohol and took refuge in the more liberal Palermo. [BAS69:648; Qft 3:190-91; c Abbas 209-11]

(g) cAtIq al-Samantari (d. 464/1072): eminent scholar of law and hadith, best knownfor his piety and asceticism. He went to Mecca for the pilgrimage and traveledextensively throughout the east. He contacted other mystics (Sufis) and composed ahuge work of over ten volumes on the lives of pious men. He was also known to havecomposed Sufi poetry. [BAS 11:113-14; c Abbas 73-74]

(h) cAbd al-Haqq al-Samhl (d. 466/1074): studied law in Sicily and Qayrawan. Hemade the pilgrimage to Mecca twice and frequently traveled to Egypt. He composed awork on legal questions in the Mudawwanah as well as a major commentary on it. Hewas a prominent teacher in Sicily and taught subjects such as law and legalmethodology. [Tartlb 2:11 A; Dlbdj 2:56; c Abbas 49-51.]

(i) Abu Hafs cUmar Ibn al-Hakkar (d. 483/1090): bellettrist, poet and jurist. He wrotea commentary on the Mudawwanah that comprises 300 sections. [Tartlb 2:800-1;Dlbdj 2:11]

These sketches show that law, philology, and mysticism were the most importantsubjects in the education and culture of early Muslim Sicily. In legal studies, thedominance of the madhhab of Malik is clearly established, with the Mudawwanah asa primary text and Sahnun and his disciples as important transmitters of knowledge.Following trends in the major centers of both the Muslim West and East, the Siciliancurriculum also included the study of legal theory and methodology (usul), the pointsof law (furuc), exegesis (tafslr), and speculative theology (kaldm). Inheritance lawand legal issues pertaining to jihad were particularly popular topics of specialization.

The second concern of Islamic education in Sicily was linguistic studies, includinggrammar, syntax, poetry and prosody, prose composition, lexicography, and literary

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criticism, matching wThe importance of leanon-native speakers, iarts and linguistic sci<of Islamic humanipreponderance of liesignificance of this isvery much within theIn addition, the largdictionaries indicatesundoubtedly a rich soi

The third focus o]This is not surprisingundertaking of jihad.Samantarl, howevermonastic life of pietjtravels east and his cohis scholarship in lawthe earlier mode of ththe Sicilian Abu Hafsfollowing from SicilSamantarl and receivethat Sicilian Islam toAfrica and the East.

Rihlah: Th

When the Umayyad ctenets of the faith totradition of scholarlyWest and the Muslimscentury when Frenchcultural, and psycho]Geography dictated

47 The early history andc Abd al-Wahhab, Waraqat,

48 This has been a r"Scholasticism and Humanhere 179 -80 ; idem, The IEdinburgh University Press,

49 T h e Sicilian poet Ibnhe condemns the popular e<mys t i c i sm, leading Amaridiscipline. See BAS, 590 anc

55 c Abbas , Mucjam, 157-

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 167

criticism, matching what we known of contemporary North Africa and al-Andalus.The importance of learning and teaching the Arabic language, especially in areas withnon-native speakers, was obviously a factor, not to mention the fact that the languagearts and linguistic sciences were a hallmark of Arabic education and a key componentof Islamic humanism throughout the classical period.48 Nevertheless, thepreponderance of linguistic studies in Islamic Sicily is remarkable. The broadersignificance of this is that Sicily was, at least with regard to linguistic scholarship,very much within the mainstream of the great centers of Arabic culture and learning.In addition, the large number of Sicilian poets in anthologies and biographicaldictionaries indicates that Arabic poetry was a vital part of cultural life. Sicily wasundoubtedly a rich source of cross-cultural - and perhaps cross-linguistic - influence.

The third focus of Islamic education in this period of maturity was mysticism.This is not surprising given the spiritual dimension so strongly emphasized in theundertaking of jihad. The information we have on the life and works of cAtiq al-Samantarl, however scant, shows that mysticism in Sicily evolved from living amonastic life of piety, prayer, and renunciation into an academic discipline.49 Histravels east and his contacts with other mystics, his writings on mystical subjects, andhis scholarship in law and hadith suggests a different mystical-ascetical practice fromthe earlier mode of the murabitlmujahid, or soldier/monk. In one biographical entry,the Sicilian Abu Hafs cUmar (430-526/1039-1132), a mystic and ascetic with a widefollowing from Sicily and North Africa, reported that he had studied with al-Samantarl and received an ijazah (license) to teach his work.50 This once again showsthat Sicilian Islam to a large extent mirrored the development of Islam in NorthAfrica and the East.

Rihlah: The Transmission of Knowledge to and from Sicily

When the Umayyad caliph cUmar b. cAbd al-cAz!z sent ten scholars to teach thetenets of the faith to the newly conquered territories of North Africa, he began atradition of scholarly travel and intellectual exchange between the Muslims of theWest and the Muslims of the East that would continue until the end of the nineteenthcentury when French colonial rule impaired this process by driving a political,cultural, and psychological wedge between the Arab West and the Arab East.Geography dictated that the academic journey (rihlah) become of paramount

47 T h e early history and deve lopment of Arabic linguistic studies in North Africa has been treated inc Abd a l -Wahhab , Waraqat, 9 5 - 1 0 6 . For Sicily, see Amari , SMS, 2: 5 2 6 - 6 1 2 .

48 This has been a recurring motif in George Makdisi's work on Islamic humanism. See"Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West," JAOS 109 (1989): 175-82,here 179-80; idem, The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West (Edinburgh:Edinburgh Universi ty Press, 1990).

49 T h e Sicilian poet Ibn al-Tazzi , w h o flourished in the mid-eleventh century, wrote a poem in whichhe condemns the popular ecstatic form of myst ic ism and advocates a tradit ionally re l igious and rationalmysticism, leading Amari to make the observation that Sufism was evolving into an intellectualdiscipline. See BAS, 590 and SMS, 2:556-57.

56 cAbbas, Mucjam, 157-58.

168 William Granara

importance to the development of Islamic education in the Maghreb. Combined withthe religious obligation of pilgrimage (hajj), and personal contacts essential to one'sacademic formation, the rihlah became de rigueur for any credible Muslim scholar.

The biographies of Muslim Sicily's two 'founding fathers,' Asad b. al-Furat andSahnun b. Sacld, show how essential the rihlah was to the origins and development ofSicilian Muslim history. Asad's journey to Mecca to learn from the grand master,Malik, was followed by his studies in Iraq with Abu Yusuf and ShaybanI, the greatestliving disciples of Abu Hanlfah. He completed his rihlah with a period of intensivestudies with Ibn al-Qasim, Egypt's premier scholar in the tradition of Malik, whichculminated in the completion of his Asadlyah. The combination of these travels gavehim personal prestige, scholarly and legal standing, and political maneuverability topromote his agenda. His accomplishments as traveler/scholar prepared him for thecommand over ninth-century Ifriqiya's greatest historical event: the conquest ofSicily. Sahnun's journey to Mecca and his travels to Egypt to study under Ibn al-Qasim allowed him to write the lawbook that was to become the standard text ofMalikI jurisprudence, the Mudawwanah. This journey was undoubtedly a kind of riteof passage - the establishment of contact with the city of Medina and its scholars -which contributed greatly to his scholarly attainments and to his rightful place as acentral figure in the building of the MalikI madhhab in the Maghreb.

Information about the transmission of knowledge into and out of Sicily from theearly tenth to the mid-eleventh century must be culled, once again, from the scantmaterial found in the biographical literature. A representative selection will tell uswhence scholars came to the island, under what circumstances they arrived, what theystudied, wrote, or taught, and what impact they had on Sicilian Islam. Patterns ofmigration to Sicily begin around 930, just as the Fatimids were completing theircontrol over the major cities of Ifrlqiya and other parts of North Africa and workingtheir way into Sicily. Travel to Sicily slows down considerably in the mid-eleventhcentury, during the years of civil strife among the Muslims and the Norman conquest.

(a) Abu Sacld Luqman (d. 318/930): scholar of jurisprudence who wrote prolificallyon many branches of knowledge. He studied under a number of disciples of Sahnun.Born in Qayrawan, he lived for fourteen years in Sicily, teaching the Mudawwanah,and resettled in Tunis. In addition to his legal studies, he was an ascetic who lived apious life. [BAS 28:192; Tartlb 2:311]

(b) CA1I b. Hamzah al-Basrl (d. 375/985): immigrated to Palermo where he lived untilhe died. He was a professional reciter of the poetry of the great Arab poet al-Mutanabbi, whose dlwdn he taught. He also wrote commentaries on al-Jahiz's Kitabal-Hayawdn, as well as other works on adab (belles lettres), which he presumablyalso taught in Palermo.51

(c) Sacid b. al-Hasan (d. 385/995): originally from Mosul (Iraq), he studied in theEast and was best known as a grammarian. He traveled to al-Andalus and was a

51 Ihsan c Abbas, al-cArabfiSiqilllyah (Cairo: Dar al-Macarif, 1959), 93.

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specialist in languagduring a period of ci1

2:85-90]

(d) Muhammad b. Isciences and MalikIstudents. [BAS 74:664

(e) Abu al-Qasim Ibstudents of Ibn Abl Zgeneration. He wroteriydsah in his madhltraveled to Sicily, whand teacher. [Tartlb 4:

(f) Abu Hasan Ibn RJscholar to visit and seauthored many workstreatise on Arabic li1:298-304]

The biographies offirst decades of theknowledge and its ad<it was generally Maliproximity, a primary inewest frontier of theconsolidation of MaliEast, on the other hzbrought with them exand exposed Sicilian sadab literature, maqditime. Additionally, e>tried their hand at poe(

These patterns ofcenter of expertise incame to Sicily to stischolar. Although Sic

52 It has been suggestechis Shiite sympathies. "CMudawwanah . . . [al-Barathe Fatimids which apearedescended from Fatima, thpublication . . . After thisAbdul-Wahhab al-Fili, A C401 H.), Ph.D. dissertation,

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 169

specialist in language, belles lettres and history (akhbdr). He migrated to Sicilyduring a period of civil strife in Spain. [BAS 68:625-6; 69:644; 72:659; 76:675; Qft2:85-90]

(d) Muhammad b. Khurasan (d. 386/996): philologist and scholar of Qur3anicsciences and MalikI law. He immigrated to Sicily where he taught hadith to manystudents. [BAS 74:664; 76:670]

(e) Abu al-Qasim Ibn al-BaradhicI (d. ca. 400/1010): one of the most successfulstudents of Ibn Abi Zayd and QabisI, the leading North African MalikI jurists of theirgeneration. He wrote a short compendium on the Mudawwanah, but failed to attainriydsah in his madhhab due to his association with the governing authorities. Hetraveled to Sicily, where he earned the favor of the emir and flourished as a scholarand teacher. [Tartib 4:72-73; Macalim 3:146-50]52

(f) Abu Hasan Ibn Rashlq (d. 456/1064): perhaps the most famous medieval Muslimscholar to visit and settle in Sicily. He was renowned as a poet and literary critic andauthored many works, most prominent of which is Kitdb al- cumdah, a sophisticatedtreatise on Arabic literary criticism. [BAS 68:624; 69:644; 71:649; 72:659; Qft1:298-304]

The biographies of these scholars, who flourished in the latter half of the tenth andfirst decades of the eleventh century, reveal two important trajectories by whichknowledge and its adepts came to the island. In matters of religion and legal studies,it was generally MalikI scholars from North Africa who came to Sicily. Other thanproximity, a primary reason for this was undoubtedly the opportunities to teach in thisnewest frontier of the Islamic Empire. This pattern of travel was instrumental in theconsolidation of Maliklsm throughout the Muslim West. Scholars coming from theEast, on the other hand, tended to be specialists in language and literature. Theybrought with them extensive knowledge of classical philology, literature, and poetryand exposed Sicilian students to the latest trends in these fields. Poetic commentaries,adab literature, maqamat, literary histories, and anthologies flourished in Sicily at thistime. Additionally, experts in many fields, including members of the ruling family,tried their hand at poetry.

These patterns of migration to Sicily also confirm that Sicily was not a majorcenter of expertise in any one field. There are extremely few cases in which scholarscame to Sicily to study a particular subject or to make contact with a particularscholar. Although Sicilian Muslim intellectual life succeeded in following trends set

52 It has been suggested that al-BaradhicI may have been rejected by the QayrawanI jurists because ofhis Shiite sympathies. "One of Ibn Abi Zayd's most brilliant students, and author of Tahdhib al-Mudawwanah . . . [al-Baradhi°I] destroyed his own reputation by the publication of an historical study ofthe Fatimids which apeared sympathetic not only to their religious positions but to their claims to bedescended from Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet. Ibn Abi Zayd led the culama° in condemning thispublication . . . After this consensus, al-BaradhicI was compelled to leave Qayrawan for Sicily." NajibAbdul-Wahhab al-Fili, A Critical Edition ofKitab al-Amwal of Abu Jafar Ahmad b. Nasr al-Dawudi (d.401 H.), Ph.D. dissertation, University of Exeter, 1989.

170 William Granara

elsewhere, especially in Baghdad, it still gained its sustenance primarily fromQayrawan and to a lesser extent from Cairo after the Fatimid caliphate moved there in358/969. These patterns do suggest that Sicily was a haven for those escapingpolitical or religious repression, the ravages of war, or other human tragedies. It was aporous and relatively tolerant society that was able to absorb many differentintellectual and cultural elements.

In contrast to the 'indigenous' Sicilian Muslims described above, the lastgenerations of Sicilians, who flourished in the later decades of the eleventh and theearly years of the twelfth centuries, are better represented in the sources. Whileinformation on academic journeys per se is lacking, emigration from the island due topolitical turmoil, civil war, and, most importantly, the Norman conquest is clearlytaking place. A 'brain drain' preceded the larger waves of exile that began by themid-twelfth century. The florescence of Arabo-Islamic culture that had peaked at theKalbid court from 379-412/990-1020 began to be eclipsed thereafter by the Kalbidfamily's domestic quarrels and self-destruction. As a result, old tensions among theMuslim community - Arab vs. Berber, urban vs. rural, skilled vs. unskilled labor -resurfaced and animosities flared up between the newly arrived 'North African'volunteers and the older generations of settled, landed 'Sicilian' Muslims. The notionof jihad as a lucrative fighting machine was dying out, as the spoils of war weredecreasing at a rapid rate. The primary feature of Sicily as a ghazi society53 wasgiving way to the development of a civil society, especially in the big towns longsettled by Muslims. But as the political situation deteriorated, Islamic scholarship andhigh culture continued to follow their established patterns, as the biographies ofSicily's last generations show.

Many figures whose names include a Sicilian nisbah such as Siqilli, Saraqusi,Ballanubl, TrabanshI, Mazarl had no direct contact with the island but were sons orgrandsons of Sicilian emigres. Two of the most famous Sicilian Muslim scholars,Muhammad al-Mazari (d. 538/1138), eminent MalikI jurist, hadith scholar, Ashcaritetheologian, teacher, and preacher,54 and Abu cAbd Allah Ibn Zafar (d. 565/1170),jurist, theologian, and author of a famous work on royal etiquette (Sulwan al-mutac),55 both left the island as young children. Of concern here are those whodeveloped as scholars in Sicily and left fully matured. Through their biographies wecan see the last stages of scholarship before the end of Islamic rule.

(a) cUmar b. Khalaf Ibn Makkl (d. 500/1107): jurisconsult, hadith scholar, poet, andlinguist who composed a famous work on dialectology, Talqlh al-jindn fi tathqif al-lisdn. He emigrated from Sicily during the civil strife and took residence in Tunis,

53 Ottoman historian Paul Wittek defines a ghazi society as "a community of Moslem marchwarriors, devoted to the struggle with the infidels in their neighborhood." Paul Wittek, The Rise of theOttoman Empire (London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1958), 14.

54 For more information on his life and work, see H. Idriss, "L'Ecole Malikite de Mahdia: L'Imamal-Mazarl (m. 536 H/1141)," in Etudes Levi-Provengal (Paris: G.P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1962),153-63

55 Ibn Zafar was a prolific writer on many subjects. For his life and work, see U. Rizzitano, "IbnZafar," El2, 3:970.

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where he became c69:646-47; Qft 3:329

(b) Abu al-cArab Muof the Norman conqicredited with havinghad settled. After th<Mallorca. [cAbbas 23

(c) Muhammad b. /foremost expert in pemigrated from Sicilwhere he gave lectispecialist in fiqh. [BA.

(d) CA1I b. Jafar Ibn ;literary historians, argrammar. At the timemany works. His m(khafirah. [BAS 63:58(

(e) Abd al-Rahmanspecialist in Quranicsyntax as well as onafter the Norman con

The closing chapsystem of educationThe biographies shoSicilians who were pQayrawan and otheiestablished, while scEast, especially Bagaccomplishment end<foster religious tolenFinally, poets foundcArab and Ibn Hamdi

One important feitendency toward ascholar (mutafanninthe Islamic empire ;centers of the Eastexperienced what E

56 See SMS, 2:59-96.

172 William Granara

distancing and imitation," the desire to imitate the models provided by Baghdad,Cairo and Damascus, while maintaining a separate, distinctive identity.57 By provinghimself in all the major areas of knowledge, the Sicilian Muslim had the chance tomake his mark in a borrowed time and a precarious place.

Conclusion

The political, social, and intellectual history of Islamic Sicily was intricatelyconnected to the medieval Muslim states of Ifriqiya, beginning with the Aghlabid,passing through the Fatimid, and ending with the Zirid periods of its history. The vastmajority of Muslim Sicilians trace their origins to North Africa. Jihad provided theideological backdrop for a continuing North African emigration to the island. Themost salient feature of Muslim society in Sicily was its frontier status as a communityfighting in the defense of the faith. As a ghdzi community, it depended heavily onmanpower, weaponry, and political and military leadership from Ifriqiya. In mattersof religion and law, Sicily drew from Ifriqiya as well. The inclusion of religiousscholars in the army and the establishment of judgeships in Sicilian towns were notonly means of ministering to the spiritual needs of the troops, but also of assuringcontrol over the direction of the jihad and asserting its connectedness to the politicaland religious authority of Qayrawan. The very nature of jihad and a major factor in itswide popular appeal was its rootedness in the tenets of the faith, in its legitimacy; thislegitimacy was reinforced by the presence of the jurisconsults and judges who weresent to read and enact the law.

Because of these connections to Ifriqiya, the major architects of the legal societythat developed in Sicily were Sahnun b. Sacld and his son Muhammad. Sicilian Islamevolved as part of a process of 'madhhab building' which Sahnun had begun forQayrawan. Through a combination of reaffirming the primacy of the sunnah, waginga relentless campaign against all forms of bidcah (innovation), and enforcing theemulation of the practices and pronouncements of the Medinan community ofCompanions (taqlid), he established a chain of authority in which he and his discipleswere forever linked with Qayrawan as sacred center. As teachers, scholars, and menof extreme piety and populist politics, Sahnun and Muhammad created an extensivesuhbah, a fellowship of disciples who, through conformity, consensus, and discipline,formed the core of the madhhab that would become the backbone of Sicilian Islam.The spatial proximity of Qayrawan and the temporal proximity of Sahnun and hisMudawwanah connected this frontier community to the wider Muslim world.

The education and formation of the first generations of Sicilian Muslims wasbased on a trivium of Arabic language, Islamic law, and ethics. In spite of a paucityof information, it can safely be assumed that Sicily resembled Ifriqiya in thecomposition and diversity of its religious and scholarly life, including disciples ofAbu Hanlfah, adherents of Muctazilism, and not a few devotees of Kharijite theologyand politics. But as Malikism consolidated into a legal guild in Qayrawan and otherareas of North Africa and eliminated its rivals, the same phenomenon was occurring

Islamic Educe

in Sicily. As the ghailearning were expandbeyond the fortress (mosque complexes icomplexes with adjcinstitutions expand be

Beyond the memoIslamic legal studiesincluding methodolcbranched out into malinguistic, historical,way to a more sophist

In sum, the educaitheir co-religionistsadvanced the way itwas otherwise main;tradition which SahMaghreb, but the suedeal to the Fatimidtolerance, far-sightedSicilian Islam to fconservative Qayravfinancial prosperity idistancing and imitoidentity. In this regahistorical perspectiveaspects of medieval IJ

57 David Wasserstein, "The Library of al-Hakam II al-Mustansir and the Culture of Islamic Spain,"Manuscripts of the Middle East 5 (1990-91): 101-2.

Islamic Education and the Transmission of Knowledge in Muslim Sicily 173

in Sicily. As the ghdzl society evolved into a more civilian society, its institutions oflearning were expanding in new directions. Just as the architecture of Sicily expandedbeyond the fortress or fortified monastery to include private homes with extendedmosque complexes for prayer and education, pleasure palaces, and governmentcomplexes with adjoining shops and factories, so too did the legal and culturalinstitutions expand beyond their original forms.

Beyond the memorization of the Qur3an and the rudiments of reading and writing,Islamic legal studies in Sicily, as elsewhere, evolved into a complex of subjectsincluding methodological literature and speculative theology. Language studiesbranched out into many subfields, and poetry as entertainment became the subject oflinguistic, historical, and critical aesthetic investigation. Piety and asceticism gaveway to a more sophisticated treatment of Sufism as a field of inquiry.

In sum, the education of Sicilian Muslims did not differ significantly from that oftheir co-religionists in other centers of the Sunni Muslim world. The fact that itadvanced the way it did given an environment of constant war is remarkable, but itwas otherwise mainstream. Its genesis and development are found in the Malik!tradition which Sahnun and his disciples established throughout the medievalMaghreb, but the success and growth of Islamic knowledge and learning owe a greatdeal to the Fatimid caliphs and their clients too who, through political acumen,tolerance, far-sightedness, and patronage of culture, allowed the natural processes ofSicilian Islam to flow uninterrupted. The dynamism of security in stronglyconservative Qayrawani Malikism tempered by a modicum of independence andfinancial prosperity under the Fatimid caliphate reflects the balancing act betweendistancing and imitation that was a mark of both Muslim Spanish and Sicilianidentity. In this regard, Dachraoui is correct in cautioning against a purely Sunnihistorical perspective and in calling our attention to Fatimid contributions to manyaspects of medieval Islamic history.